Belle Monde
by The Purple Bunny
Summary: Two years have passed and Yuna is learning the importance of moving on. She learns of 'an entirely different land' on the other side of the world through her father's journal, as well as a mysterious woman named Ifalna. Through her travels she learns of many things - new threats, new lessons, and new love. Cloud x Yuna pairing.
1. Start

Author's Note:  
Hello, before I go on (and I'll try not to take up everything here) I would like to say this takes place after Final Fantasy X-2's common ending and a little after Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. This is a bit of an **AU, **meaning some things will be slightly altered, such as Gaia and Spira being part of the same world with Spira being more of a continent than a whole world. The first chapter is a bit lengthy so I hope you don't mind. Enjoy!

* * *

**001: Start.**

There were a few things she couldn't seem to understand—one seemed to be about these strange rumors of a race other than the Al Bheds, of an old race capable of communicating with the earth beneath their feet, with the planet itself. Another of a more 'technology advanced' continent, that even the Al Bhed have come to wonder about in both envy and amazement. But again, they were nothing but rumors. There were many secrets of this world, and she has yet to explore it all. Though Yuna hadn't thought about it at all, nor had she known of the existence of how large her world can exactly be. It all started with a journal.

One sunny, silent, and slow day, Yuna raided through her parents' old belongings locked away in a chest hidden somewhere in the temple, pesky thing was always hard to open though. However one day, as if by some miracle, she found the key to the lock in her _own _belongings. Sadly, being occupied with saving her homeland, with personal issues that seemed to have been added to that, along with maintaining her "celebrity" status and tending to others had her too busy to really give her enough time to do anything for herself anymore. But now, she was able to find that missing key to her parents' chest as it was tugged away in her old things, and now, she was able to open said chest and explore every inch of it. It was nice to step back and visit memory lane. While most of their past had been troubled due their race and many criticisms among their society, they were good people, they were her _parents _from what little she remembers of them.  
The chest contained small trinkets, fabrics, clothing, and even photographs of the past and familiar faces, including a couple of her parents.  
Though there was a photo in particular she didn't seem to quite understand, a face she had never seen before, along with scenery that seemed so unfamiliar, and she could tell, there was something really different about this picture.

A single woman smiled in the picture, she donned strange yet simple looking clothing, such as a red dress with a purple sash tied to the waist. Parts of her long, thick light brown wavy hair flowed in the wind, and she viewed the younger woman with her blue eyes; it certainly caught Yuna's attention. But…who was she? Why had there been a photo of her in her parents' belongings? Clearly, it was someone either of them knew. Then, she found her father's journal; a small, leather book with crisp pages smooth and soothing to the touch, the scent brought back a lot of blurred memories that ran through her mind, memories that she desperately tried to remember – it was her father's scent. It's been so long, her emotions build up inside her, practically leaving her in tears. She opened and took note at how fragile the pages were, how yellowed they had been with old age; she could still make out the words just fine though...  
It mostly told of daily everyday things at Bevelle, trouble at Bevelle, and spoke of her Al Bhed mother too. A beautiful and understanding woman who seemed to radiate with kindness and creativity that somehow separated her from other women he's come with contact with. She hadn't cared nor judged him for who he was as the Al Bhed and Yevonites had always done with each other, all that mattered was that she was there for him, that she cared and listened. That was what Braska wrote in his journal. She felt her heart overwhelming again, her father had written passages of his life that she could drink in and it felt wonderful.

Yuna turned each page with care, she continued to read, her finger brushing against every word written on each page, and then she paused. A particular name had been written upon the page with her father's handwriting – Ifalna. It was a beautiful but a name she hadn't heard of before, a name she hadn't recognized at all from any stories of her father or anyone among her. In the writing, it said Ifalna was friendly, creative, funny, and kinder than the rest of the civilization of the 'land far from Spira'. She was a woman so different from the rest that he could immediately sense it as they first met, a woman with a unique gift that humans have lost centuries ago; she was a Cetra. She kept repeating the word over and over again in her head, any memories of this word had been a complete blur but she knew she had heard this word before in her life, but from where she cannot recall.

As she read on, she learned more of this Ifalna, of her heritage and her abilities, of her relationship with her father and how they came to meet each other. He was lost, others shunned, only one woman actually took the time to speak to him and hear of his questions, in fact, she did much more than that, she befriended him. Braska explained how he felt strangely drawn to her, she was highly different among the rest and he hadn't known why, other than she was incredibly polite and easy to speak with.  
She was just like her, Yuna's mother, whom he had already known at the time. Ifalna reminded him so much of her and that made him miss her even more. So Yuna could rule out that this Ifalna woman had been a past lover to her father but by the way he described her he still cared very much for her as a friend.  
When he arrived in Gaia, a mixture of all sorts of interesting people blended in, different cultures and races had spread around, it was an amazing sight; it was then that Yuna had learned the technology rumors had been true. Though this 'vacation' had its up and its downs – people knew how different Braska had been, how different he dressed and looked, they often glared at him for it. But Ifalna didn't. Eventually Braska had returned to his own homeland of Spira to meet up with Yuna's mother again, it was then he had decided that no matter how different he was to her, no matter how different she was to him, and no matter how many living creatures populated this large, large world they have yet to explore entirely – he loved her, so he proposed to her.

Other pages far ahead continued to mention usual things, conflict caused by her parents' engagement, letters in which he wrote to Ifalna that often arrived weekly as best as they could. Letters…  
Yuna's mismatched colored eyes left the pages of the journal looking back at the chest that contained the old belongings, her hand brushed away a cloth and pushed aside knickknacks, a pile of envelopes lied stacking beneath one another. "Are these the letters…?" She murmured to herself, plucking the first one from the pile, her father's name had been written on the front in feminine writing. This had to be it; this had to be the letter that Braska spoke of. Gently, she opened up the envelope, taking the parchment out and unfolding it, she immediately began to scan the words written there.

_Braska,  
I hope this reached you, I have no clue how the courier will manage to travel all the way to Spira and find you, but I hope this reaches you somehow. It's been silent most of the time but…they've left me alone for now. They've captured me, Braska, imprisoned me for weeks! I couldn't even properly say goodbye to you… It's alright now; I managed to escape with the help of a man, he's a professor. We're traveling up north from here and we'll find somewhere to stay for a while. It is rough being the only one left of my race and for that I am heavily wanted by Shinra. But it's alright though, I'll be fine.  
Maybe one day I can visit your home and get to know you and your girlfriend better, it would be nice to escape…  
Take care,_

_Ifalna. _

"Shrina…last of her race…" The letter was short and blossomed a lot of questions in Yuna's mind, this only made her reach for the next letter and continue reading.

_Braska,  
You shouldn't worry about me so much, I'm fine now! Professor Gast has found us a place to hide at Icicle Inn. You may have not been there before, you didn't travel too far but it's farther up north up in the mountains. I think you mentioned you had snowy mountains as well…Mount Gagazet, I believe? Oh, well, it's peaceful…for now. I'm glad my last letter got to you though, I was worried it wouldn't. Your letter put me in good spirits; I just hope Shinra doesn't end up tracking down these letters. I might be able to convince Gast to travel further so we can see you. A place that Shinra cannot touch…I know your home has problems too, but anywhere I'm not being pursued is fine by me. _

_I wish to see you again,_

_Ifalna._

_P.S. Congratulations on the engagement! _

Two letters down, another to go…

_I'm so tired,  
Professor Gast recorded me today, and he wanted to hear everything about the Cetra. You remember the stories I told you as well, right? After all, it was just the same story. We spoke so much our throats were sore by the end of the day. You spoke of Sin; I spoke of the Calamity of the Sky…  
We both suffered, our people have suffered together, and we'll continue to suffer, won't we? The Cetra have all come together and tried their best to keep this planet safe, and then our numbers grew limited. It seems that danger is unavoidable sometimes.  
I hope your peace returns, I hope I find my own peace too. I am lonely but Gast is with me. You are with me too. I don't know what I would do without you two._

_Ifalna_

…

_Braska,  
it's been a while, I meant to write sooner but so much has happened.  
You should know, Gast and I are…very much in love. He understands me like no one else does, kind of like you. He was the only one to help me rather than use me; he cares about me – Ifalna the person, not Ifalna the 'Ancient'. It's only fair that you know, you also have someone very special to you (have you gone through the wedding yet? I would love to hear details!)and I have to tell you that I'm pregnant. I'm already starting to show and knew I had to write you; wanted to tell you as soon as I found out but I recently got your response, and Gast hardly lets me lift a finger, says I need to concentrate on resting, he's so silly sometimes. Braska, do you have children yet? I would like our children to be friends one day; I would like to watch them play together…  
Ifalna_

…

_How are you, have you been busy?  
I just got your letter! You must've been as you sound quite occupied for a priest. I'm so sorry to hear things are still hard for you but I'm sure you'll turn out just fine; after all, things are starting to look up for me. What incredible timing I end up receiving your letter just this morning, I had my baby two weeks ago! It's really been a long time, hasn't it? I've missed speaking with you and maybe now that my daughter is born I can finally convince Gast to travel to Spira to meet up with you again. Don't try to talk me out of it; I've made up my mind! Nor Sin or Shinra can stop me from seeing you. I really want you to meet her…_

_I miss you, and once Aerith is a little older I want to see you again. Will you wait for me?  
Ifalna. _

The letters end there, there hadn't been very many but they had already sparked so much questions, as well as concerns. There was a woman out there – a woman and her daughter who probably never saw Yuna's father again. The letters stopped and she could only assume…he never got the chance to write her back. The letters didn't exactly state a clear date of which they were sent, but she could only theorize that her father simply stopped receiving them, they've developed incredibly busy lives, or he died before he can properly reply to her. A tiny idea popped to her head and she wondered if she could write this woman back…but how would she even begin to find where she might've been? This was the first she heard of the continent called Gaia.

For the longest time, all she wanted and all she needed was another purpose to move forward to.  
Determination lit a fire inside her and she set out of her home, into the sunny island breeze of Besaid Island's day.  
It was time for her to go on a trip.


	2. Search

**002: Search**

It wasn't easy but she hadn't expected it to be. Yuna came to develop the theory that Ifalna was out there with the daughter from her letters, a woman part of a dying race that had sought escape and comfort from her father. To when he exactly ventured off to this distant and closed off land, she hadn't known, only that it was before she was even born and before her parents were officially together. Had they already known that Braska became a summoner and sacrificed his life for Spira or had this news been lost to them? These are questions she came to memorize as she prepared for her long journey. She took most of the things she would need to take but she had to travel light – a lesson she learned from Lulu about four years ago when she began her pilgrimage. Most importantly, she carried her weapons just in case she ran into any trouble and two photographs – one of Ifalna and one of her parents. She figured if she carried this with her then Ifalna would recognize her father and would actually believe her be the daughter of Braska.

It hadn't been exactly clear on others why she wanted to do this or why she had to, it wasn't even clear to her, but there was extra 'push' that indicated this was something she had to seek out further. It was a whole new environment to explore…as crazy as it sounded, it may have been just the very thing to help her. Not only would she able to find her father's old friend along with her family, she would have a chance to build a new life, she would have a purpose. Had this been a foolish plan though? She received many lectures from Wakka and Lulu, including that following morning of her departure.

"I'll write to you as soon as I can!" She promised, but she had no idea how long the trip would be and just how far away this other land was.  
"You just got back and already you're running off again?" Wakka had his arms crossed to his chest; Lulu was at his side holding onto Vidina by her hip, the small toddler had already grown tall enough to stand on his own and has mastered walking, even if he has to wobble on his stubby feet and often falls down. At Wakka's remark, Yuna had only shaken her head. "It's been two years…" She replied. Two years was long enough for her to settle back in and begin the routine of finding peace within herself, it was enough time for her to move on with her life with Wakka, Lulu, and everyone else in Besaid Island, and in all of Spira itself. But right now, it was time for her to search for her goal…even if she hadn't been exactly clear what that goal was.  
"You have no idea what is out there," Lulu warned, hoisting her son up as he slid down her waist, he watched Yuna with his ruby eyes nibbling on his small fist, those eyes were of his mother's,"yet you want to travel so far?"  
"My father's been there before! According to his journal everything is so different." She took note to avoid talking about the 'advanced machina', despite machina playing a larger role in their society since the Eternal Calm had been granted, Yuna still worried of disappointing of the 'old fashioned' folk, even if her mind had opened up more to a whole different world and culture; she wasn't one to judge. This was a very important lesson many had taught her throughout her whole life. "I can do it, I know I can, you just have to believe in me." It was just like two years ago when she first ran off at the sight of the mysterious sphere that Rikku found and no one was able to stop her. It was just like this now and her friends knew very well it would be hard to get her to back down from this. Yuna was no longer the child she was four years ago, she had grown admirably and became a savor and icon for many people, because of this she chose to stay behind Besaid to tend to everyone, to tend to her friends and their new baby, and to simply live a normal life and offer advice to those who needed it; they depended on her and she couldn't turn them down. But it was Yuna's turn again, it was her turn to do something for herself, yet in a way, she was still doing this for others. She was doing this for her father, and not just him, but Ifalna and her daughter, Aerith, as well.

"Yu..Yun…" Vidina mumbled behind his small fist, his eyes curiously watched Yuna as both his parents had done as well. She could only offer them her most optimistic and sincerest smile. "I love you all and I promise I'll come back." How long she would be gone and how long she would stay at Gaia had been left out on purpose, these were details even she hadn't known yet but once she knew she was sure she would write to them right away. And just like two years ago, Yuna had set off and this time it was on her own; another personal journey with another personal purpose.

Wakka and Lulu had still been very happy to see her to something for herself, yet they continued to try to convince her to think about it more, to bring someone else along (Rikku and Paine had also offered to come) but she couldn't do that as everyone had spread out and developed their own lives, and part of her felt that this was something solely meant for her. She couldn't describe it; it was like a feeling that was drawing her in closer and closer.

* * *

It's been almost an entire week and she had to make due with ride after ride, hitchhike after hitchhike, on Celsius that carried her across the ocean for a good few days till it was time for her to depart once again, on carriages being pulled by chocobos, and strange vehicles that resembled familiar machinas…cars, was it? Trucks. She sat at the back one truck one morning as she was awoken from her sleep by a bumpy road. The surroundings were changing drastically, she didn't exactly realize how long she slept but she was sure the grass had been much…greener…no this area didn't even contain grass – it was just dark plain for miles and miles. This was Gaia? She hadn't been sure anymore, she really should've stopped and asked for directions.

"So where you headed to?" The driver of this strange contraption had asked about a few hours before she got on.  
"Uh…wherever you're headed to is just fine." So with that, she was headed to whatever town this man had been taking her. Yuna should've thought about this more, should've asked him about certain places but as of now, any town or city mentioned by her father had been a blur…Ifalna, Aerith…these were names that were planted in her mind, the most important ones, but there was another one. "Shinra?"  
"Excuse me?" The man had asked from behind her, the small window at the back of the pick-up had been open, made it easier for the two of them to hear each others words and requests.  
"Oh, nothing…I was just…"  
"Did you say Shinra? The company?"  
"You know them?"  
"Who doesn't? They're the world's largest incorporation; they built Midgar, and helped built Edge after Meteor ruined most of it." He hadn't turned to her as he spoke; he kept his eyes on the rocky plains, the blue of the sky above had faded away, dulling to a gray. "You never heard of Shinra before?"

"Well, I've heard of_ a_ Shrina…" She spoke of the little Al Bhed boy who joined the Gullwings of course.  
"You mean the President?"  
"President…?"  
"Don't tell me you don't know who President Rufus Shinra is." The girl who sat at the back of his truck certainly gave off a vibe different from the other folk around here, from her looks and her overall sense, she was definitely a foreigner. But Shinra was well known around the whole world, even towns like Wutai had their fair share of Shinra, and thus why they've been bustling with tourists for the past few years.  
"No, no…I've heard of Shinra!" She's only heard very little from Ifalna's letters, all she knew that they were obviously a group somehow, someone who had been after her father's friend for whatever personal reason. It had to do with her race, right? But that was all she knew, her knowledge hadn't been very far from that she had read in the letters, and that hadn't been many.  
"Then you must know of the rumors of how they've 'changed', right? They were the ones who help built Edge after all, and built that monument for Meteor. You've been to Edge, right?"  
"No…it's my overall first time here."  
"We're almost there – it's my last stop so you're going to have to make due on your own for the time being. Will you be alright?"  
But Yuna had ignored his question. "Shinra built Edge so…Shinra must be there, right?"  
"I don't know, not many people like Shinra for all that they've done." If they provoked fear to a woman who was once the friend of her father, she would imagine so. This was her only clue and right now she needed to take it, Shinra was connected to this Edge place, someone was bound to know where they resided, with that clue she can find Ifalna and Aerith.  
Next stop, Edge.

* * *

This city was very unlike any other city she has seen, even the ruins of Zanarkand had felt much livelier and had more color than this; and this was before all the tourists began to fill the entire area. As populated as the streets had been it still felt rather depressing with the grayed up sky, the bulky buildings that seemed to all lack life, and most importantly, what appeared to be homeless citizens sitting among alleys or outside shops looking dreadfully pale and hungry. Unfortunately, she hadn't carried much gil with her and she needed some of it for herself in order to find a room at an inn for the night. But she still offered a little bit of it to an old man covered in a dark cloak that covered all but a wrinkly, fragile hand. He croaked out a thank you and Yuna leaned down to his level, pressing her palms against her knees. "Take care alright?" She said in a soothing, hushed voice but then a shocked gasp escaped the clothed man and the tender smile that had appeared on her face quickly faded away replaced with a confused and lost expression. The young woman turned side to side before finally hurrying away, the old man had remained silent and hadn't uttered another word.

Yuna was a newcomer, she knew this, she was a foreigner and compared to others she was incredibly different, the big contrast between the melancholy feel and that certain 'glow' about her had grabbed the attention of the people around her and she knew it from their stares. Really, she only had one question in mind – where was the president of Shinra?

"Excuse me?" But no matter how hard she tried to talk to someone, to gain their attention, no one would take the time to speak with her. They all shunned her and passed by, some didn't even turn their heads, they probably hadn't heard her speak…or they just didn't trust her. Is everyone in this 'other land' so cold like this? At this rate, she would never get too far, but she needed to try. If asking around didn't work, then maybe she can look around instead? The president shouldn't be too hard to find, especially with such a high rank, though as Yuna continued along the pavement, waving through others, the shoulder of a much taller and burly man had bumped into hers with enough force to send her forward on her side. Instead of helping of her up and apologizing though, he had stepped by as if nothing had happened; he hadn't even turned to look at her. How rude; incredibly rude of some people… and to make matters worse, as Yuna got back on her feet her elbow and knee had been scrapped pretty badly with an angry red patch with fresh blood on each of them, and her skirt, similar to the blue and white sash she wore with her 'Gunner' outfit, had been torn and dirty at the front. Well, this day was starting out just fine.  
"Dammit!" She hissed to herself in a whisper, inspecting the wounds, she needed to get these cleaned up. As she straightened herself out her vision immediately fell upon a small figure—a little girl—who stood a few feet away from her, watching her with gentle brown eyes. Straight cut bangs had hung at the front of her forehead and her hair had been pulled back to a small braid, held at the top with a pink ribbon, her outfit was white, consisting of a sleeveless turtleneck and a long skirt. Unlike the rest of the citizens around here, she had actually acknowledged Yuna; a worry look to her face as her eyes went from Yuna's face to her knee. "You're hurt," she said.  
"No…I-I'll be fine." She put a hand assuring the small girl that nothing was wrong, though her scrapes stung. "I just need to clean them up so they don't get infected…some dirt might have gotten in them but I think I can handle it…" nothing a little healing magic couldn't help right?  
"Does it hurt?"  
"A little but I'm alright."  
The small girl only shook her head, her hands propped themselves on her hips as she looked up at the woman. "You don't need to act, if you're hurt we have to fix it." Before she knew it little fingers had wrapped around her hand and pulled her away from the pavement, Yuna tried to halt and tried to explain to the small girl that she was fine, the scrapes weren't that serious and she had suffered worse. But the two still approached a two story building, at the top there had been the logo – what looked like gold daggers forming into a circle, the black '7th' in the middle had been the most noticeable and around this circle, inside the 'daggers', had been the words 'Seventh Heaven' in red.

The small girl passed through the front doors bringing Yuna along what appeared to be a humble looking bar. A few tables at the front had lined here and there though not too many, many photographs and art; all framed had decorated the walls. At the back had been the bar, a woman in black had casually cleaned up dishes and shot glasses behind the counter, she stopped when she realized Yuna and the little girl had walked in.  
"Marlene, who's…?" It was hard to tell in the lack of light but dark bangs had framed her face, the woman watched the both of them curiously through her dark eyes, almost matching her hair.  
The girl named Marlene had simply shaken her head, clasping both of her hands behind her back. "She's injured."

So the young girl's name is Marlene? The dark haired woman's attention turned from Marlene to Yuna, she noticed the blood on her knee, the dirt on cheek as well as her torn skirt. Most importantly she noticed how distinctive she had been. Her sense of clothing, her jewelry (mostly the sole earring at right side which had consisted of different shades of blue and yellow beads, ending at a soft blue fur at the end), just everything about her had been so distinct from what anyone else in this city.  
"Are you alright?"  
"I-it will be alright." The woman had pulled up a seat from one of the tables nearby, offering it, to which Yuna took without hesitation; she didn't realize how exhausted she felt till now. Of course, she quickly collected herself, offering a polite smile to the woman and thanked her.  
"Don't sweat it, I'll find some bandages, in the meanwhile would you should relax," the woman turned to her back to her, not before looking back, offering her own polite smile as well. "By the way, I'm Tifa."


	3. Glow

**003: Glow.**

Lack of sleep and exhaustion wore out her magical abilities, but Tifa, the owner and bartender of this bar, had dabbed disinfectant on her scrapes leaving her wounds hissing; Yuna made a face at the pain but it quickly soothed away as Tifa bandaged the wounds up. "Are you from around here, Yuna?" The other woman asked, as she gathered the rest of the medical supplies, turning back to walk back up the stairs behind the bar. To the question, Yuna hesitated for a little while, wondering if the truth would be too much or be too threatening. "Far away," she answered, "really, really far away."

Tifa took note of her hesitance, took note of her mild nature, she certainly stood out from the other citizens of this city. The more she thought about it, the more she came to realize it was hard to find someone like Yuna among these parts, and she's been throughout the entire world – well, almost—and she has never met someone that resembled the young woman who sat by her table, sipping away at some juice. She had offered some alcohol in place but Yuna had turned it down either way.  
"Are you from anywhere specifically, I mean." And again, Yuna responded with a moment of silence.  
"Spira…"  
"Spira?" Now Tifa was most certain she has never been to any Spira before, in fact, this was the first she has ever heard of it. Another question came to mind but the sound of a ringing jingle had interrupted her before she could, a curious jingle that had peeked Yuna's curiosity. "Oh, there goes Cloud's phone again…" Tifa sighed heavily before departing up the stairs, and Yuna was left to wonder what a 'phone' exactly was.

To her side had been Marlene, who sipped on her own cup of juice as well and carefully watched Yuna with wonder. She smiled at her, overhearing the conversation going on in the other room –"Strife Delivery Service, you name it, we deliver it."—Marlene smiled back at her, though her gesture had been gentler. "It doesn't hurt anymore." Yuna assured the child but she wasn't so sure that's the thought that occupied her mind. Many question had ran through her own like – "who's Cloud…and w-what was that thing that made that noise?"  
"The phone?"  
"Phone…" Yuna repeated this, sounding out the word real carefully, it felt weird on her tongue, and sounded weird through the ears of the small girl. Marlene couldn't quite understand why the older lady had been as confused by something as simple as a phone, and why she called them these strange names such as 'spheres'. That's what Yuna called the television on the wall – "it reminds me of the spheres back at home. They're the same, aren't they? They look different—so flat and on a screen…" Marlene figured 'sphere' was just another word for 'television' from where Yuna came from. On Yuna's side, she was intrigued, the rumors of 'highly advanced machina and machinery' had been true, and she had now witnessed it with her very own eyes. But this land had been so different from Spira; it was hard to believe they were of the same world. Now that the fascination of technology had passed, Marlene was ready to answer her other question about Cloud, but before she could speak, Tifa had already descended down the stairs. "We get a lot of calls when Cloud's out making deliveries, this customer didn't even have his cell phone number…it should be on his card…" The words left off at a mutter directed to herself rather than anyone else, she returned to table where Yuna and Marlene sat. "Everything okay here?"

"Yes, er," Yuna lifted her head up to view the stairs, then Tifa again, "is everything alright?"

"Oh it's nothing, just another customer."  
"You make deliveries as well?" Yuna felt quite impressed with the business establishment here.  
"Sort of, Cloud does all the deliveries, and I just manage the bar, though I do help him out sometimes – customers need booze delivered too. Do you have a job, Yuna?"  
"Uh…well…not right now," the twenty one year old admitted truthfully. "But I do have enough gil to pay for the juice!" Hopefully for a room for the night as well.  
"The juice doesn't cost much but just in case we also accept and trade with other items. Are you hungry by any chance?"  
There hadn't been much food on Yuna's travels, she took what she could and salvaged it to her best, the trip took days and she found herself running low on her food till she had nothing left but small snacks and a piece of fruit and that had been her breakfast in the morning before she was picked up by the man in the pick-up truck. "Oh, I couldn't," she didn't carry much useful items with her other than her personal belongings, still her stomach had growled from its hunger. "I guess one meal couldn't hurt."

* * *

A gentle breeze blew right through him, spikes of blond hair fluttered back as he leaned back against Fenrir, inspecting the missing calls to his cellular phone. Most of them had been from Tifa but an unknown number was displayed at the top to be his newest missed call. He immediately began inspecting his voice mail to find what he had expected to find: the voice mail of his newest costumer.

This was Cloud's delivery job, to travel, to answer phone calls, and to call back to numbers of those he accidentally missed. It was ordinary, it was a repeat, but it was right; there hadn't been a worry, Geostigma was gone, no big threat had shown itself for a while now…it was fine. But despite the peace he felt now, he knew it was only temporary. After he finished his call with his newest costumer Cloud had snapped his phone shut and stashed it to his pocket, his delivery to Chocobo Farm was done and he was ready to head back to 7th Heaven; to his home. The costumer lived somewhere around Edge, and had asked for bottles of Corel Wine for a party – should be easy enough. Though as he reviewed the delivery in his mind another screaming thought kept distracting him from his work, it was the thought that constantly sneaked its way past his barriers and into his mind. Peace was temporary, Sephiroth may have disappeared once again, but he was still out there, Jenova was still out there and as long as 'she' was around, so would Sephiroth. He knew well enough that this would never go away unless he found a way to ultimately finish things once and for all, only then would the world and his life be granted its eternal peace.

The wind slapped against him as he rode back to Edge, thinking heavily on that one specific thought and problem. Sometimes he could still hear him, hear those final words before he departed into nothing leaving behind black feathers.  
_"I will never be a memory."_  
He was bound to Sephiroth, bound by Jenova cells along with every remaining 'failed' experimental puppet out there; Cloud was bound to this 'curse' for life.

* * *

Arriving back had taken roughly around thirty minutes, the clean smelling wind had faded away, the blue sky had lost its color, and the green scenery disappeared as he came upon grayed up plain. Cloud had arrived to his city, waving through other automobiles; slowing down for crossing civilian and making his way back to 7th Heaven. As the bar came to view, he parked Fenrir and silently slipped inside, there were no customers today except for a young looking brunette who spooned in mouthfuls of what looked like Tifa's popular stew into her mouth; she did this rather eagerly as if she hadn't eaten in weeks. She had been the only person in the room at the moment, distracted with her meal to really notice Cloud silently close the door behind him. It wasn't till then that she finally noticed his presence and she turned around to look at him, her mouth full of food, and her face reddening.

Oh how embarrassing, this man had walked in on her scarfing down food like there was no tomorrow, she couldn't help it though, she had been pretty hungry due to her lack of proper meals that day. The spoon dropped from her hand and landed in the bowl with a _clink! _She swallowed the food in her mouth and smiled turning to the man with spiked up blond hair and _glowing _blue eyes. Yes, his eyes were certainly something that caught her attention, and it was certainly the first she's seen since her arrival here. Despite her greeting smile toward him, he hadn't returned it; he blinked watching her with interest before finally breaking eye contact as he headed right for the bar. Yuna immediately thought he was here for a drink but was surprised when he stepped behind it and approached the stairs instead.  
"You're back so early." She heard Tifa call from the top, the dark haired woman descended, her arms folding across her chest. "Did you check back with that costumer? It seems more of them keep calling while you're away; they do have your cell phone number, right?" The reminder of their conversation had been hard to make out, the blond man spoke quite softly and hardly said much; once they were finished he walked right past Tifa and up the stairs, leaving Yuna to finish the rest of her meal behind. "Friendly," she said amusingly to herself but the other woman still overheard.  
"He is, he's just has a lot on his mind lately." With everything that went on a little over a year ago, and with the way things were in general, it wouldn't be very surprising that Cloud still brooded over his past mistakes and old enemies that had still existed somewhere within their planet, hiding and waiting. But Tifa knew despite all of this Cloud did his best to move on with his life and make something out of his business. "Oh that's right! You don't even know who he is. That was Cloud, he helps with the bar sometimes."

So that was the Cloud she heard of earlier, the one with the phone, the one with the extra room upstairs, the one with a delivery business. Yuna had to admit to herself, she hadn't expected someone who stood out so much. From his hair, those eyes, and the dark clothing along with a black sash that covered up his left side, his left shoulder covered by a pauldron with a wolf badge on its front. His sense of style had reminded her a lot of Paine and Lulu, though not quite as dark.  
"Cloud." Yuna repeated once, to herself, and eventually went back to the stew in her bowl. After a few minutes, by the time she finished her meal, Cloud had approached the first floor again; Tifa, who had been behind the counter, had reached down and placed four bottles of wine out for him.  
"Four Coral Wines just as you asked for." She stuffed the bottles into a large, brown paper bag and handed it to the blond man. Yuna had looked up from her empty dish in gentle confusion.  
"Who would want so much alcohol?"  
"Partygoers and sad lonely men," there was a slight smirk to Cloud's face, "take your pick." With the bag at hand, he turned back to head out – so he wasn't completely cold.

As Cloud had been on his delivery run, Yuna had helped herself to another bowl of stew, carelessly setting the thought of price for her meal aside in her mind at the moment. She was just happy to be getting something in her stomach to make up all those days she had to carefully ration her food and gil during her travels, she hadn't realized she would be running so low already. "I have enough…for maybe a week." A week was good but she hadn't known just how long she would stay here and she needed more gil for the ride home eventually, meaning she was stuck.  
"Er, Tifa?" The woman behind the counter immediately turned her attention to Yuna. "I don't suppose you need any help around here by any chance?" Since she was here she might as well take up some odd jobs to help her in the gil department.  
"Help? Take a look around you," Tifa gestured to the entire empty bar excluding the two of them, "business hasn't been doing so good…but maybe there is something you can do."

* * *

If a job was what she needed then a job Tifa would give her, but for now she hadn't need much help especially with the lack of customers. She had Yuna help clean up the dishes as well as the entire bar for now, the two of them spent the rest of the day sweeping at the floor and cleaning up countertops and tables. It hadn't been much but it certainly earned her a couple more gil to help her stay for an extra few days at a local inn that Tifa recommended – and the food was on the house.

"I can't thank you enough." Yuna was able to stay just a little longer with the small amount of gratitude she received, all in one place in this grayed up environment. But it was then, like a light switch flicking on, she remembered just why she _exactly _came here. "Oh…right." She was so caught up and worried with gil that she completely forgot the original reason that inspired her journey here in the first place. "Tifa, I need to ask you something."  
"What is it?" Tifa had just finished stacking the dried and clean dishes away when she turned to Yuna.  
"It's important; I've traveled all the way here because I'm looking for someone." She didn't know how she would go on about it, she didn't know if she would ask of the Cetra or of Shinra first. "I'm looking for a woman…" But what were the odds that this person in an entire sea of different people would know of this one woman and her daughter? "Aerith." The name left her on its own accord and before she can even pull back Tifa had turned to her, brown-red eyes heavily focused on her; the name obviously held some meaning to her. "I'm looking for Aerith." There was a long pause between the two women, Tifa remained silent and once she broke contact with Yuna she blinked and sighed, turning away. However, before she could answer, her attention was immediately drawn to the doorway where a peculiar blond had stood by, watching the two.  
Cloud remained at the doorway, not budging an inch, not speaking; his expression remained frozen and emotionless.


End file.
